Forty-four King County residents have been diagnosed with mumps (seven confirmed, 37 probable).

Over 60 percent are in children age 17 and younger and 59 percent are up-to-date on their measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination.

Thirty-nine are in Auburn, three are in Kent, one is in Pacific, and one is in Federal Way.

“To reduce the risk of becoming ill, everyone should be sure they are fully vaccinated against mumps with the MMR vaccine,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for King County. “If you or your child develops symptoms of mumps, please see a health care provider, even if you have been vaccinated.”

What is mumps?

Mumps is an illness caused by a virus that can cause fever, headache, and swelling of the cheeks and jaw. Most people recover from mumps in a few weeks. In rare cases, mumps can lead to more serious complications that may require hospitalization, including inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and deafness. Up to 30% of people with mumps infection will have no symptoms. [Read more…]

When Georgia Moore, second from left, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, her parents, Trevor and Courtney Moore, had to work to ensure that her younger sister, Ivy, far right, didn’t bring home germs that could endanger Georgia’s weakened immune system. After that experience, Courtney Moore says parents who opt not to vaccinate their children need to understand that decision “will impact a lot of people.” (Courtesy of the Moore family)

AUSTIN, Texas — Georgia Moore was diagnosed with leukemia the day after her 10th birthday. The fourth-grader began an intense chemotherapy regimen, which left her immune system vulnerable and kept her from attending her small, private Montessori school here.

But her younger sister Ivy was in kindergarten at the same school, where a handful of families opted out of vaccinating their children. That meant 6-year-old Ivy might bring home germs that could pose a risk to Georgia. [Read more…]

Recent cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) locally and across the US have parents, health care providers and public health professionals deeply concerned and looking hard for the cause, which remains unknown.

Based on what we do know about causes of AFM, the leading suspect is infection with a virus because several viruses are known to cause AFM in a very small number of people who become infected.

Some have expressed the opinion that vaccines may be causing the AFM cases. Like most children in the US, children who develop AFM have usually received recommended childhood vaccines at the appropriate ages.

However, there are a number of reasons why health care providers and public health professionals say childhood vaccines are not likely to be the cause of the current increase in AFM cases:

AFM cases are seen at a variety of ages and not at an age when a particular childhood vaccine is regularly given. The average age of AFM cases in the largest published reports from the US is 7 and 9 years, and the age of reported AFM cases ranges from 6 months to 21 years and older. So, the ages of AFM cases vary and are past the time when most childhood vaccines are routinely given.

By Seasonal influenza is a major global health concern. Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.

In industrialized countries, most deaths associated with influenza occur among people age 65 or older, who are also 10-30 times more likely to be hospitalized due to influenza-related complications.

In the United States, the overall burden of influenza disease during 2014-2015 across all ages was 40 million flu illnesses, 19 million flu-associated medical visits and 970,000 flu-associated hospitalizations resulting in more than 36,000 deaths due to influenza-related complications.

You play an important role in stopping the spread of flu, not just to yourself but to others. As a doctor and public health professional who has treated many people with influenza, I’ll explain why.

And no, getting the vaccine will not give you the flu.

Protecting yourself also helps others

Almost everyone should get a flu shot, preferably before the end of October, though flu vaccine should still be administered until the season is over, usually by late spring. The influenza vaccine has been shown to be one of the most important preventive measures against the flu. Almost everyone can receive the flu vaccine. Exceptions include babies younger than six months and people who have serious reactions to the flu vaccine, like anaphylaxis, a serious and life-threatening reaction.

Some people gets hives from eggs, but this is not considered a serious reaction. If you are one of these people, it is still OK for you to get a flu shot from standard providers. Even those who have a serious egg allergy can get the flu vaccine in a medical setting.

For the 2014–15 influenza season, the CDC estimates that influenza vaccination prevented about 67,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations, an estimated 1.9 million illnesses and 966,000 medical visits associated with influenza.

Getting the vaccine is not just good for you but also for the larger community. About 70 percent of the population needs to receive the flu vaccine to ensure what we call “herd immunity.” That happens when a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease.

When that occurs, most members of the community, including those who are not vaccinated, are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak. Even those who are not eligible for certain vaccines get some protection because the spread of contagious disease is contained. This can effectively stop the spread of disease in the community.

Matching the flu vaccine with the strains

The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be the most common that season. In 16 of the past 20 influenza seasons, the viruses in the influenza vaccine were well matched to the predominant circulating viruses. Due to the large numbers of flu-associated illnesses and deaths in the United States, combined with the evidence from many studies showing that flu vaccination is not only safe, but provides protection, the current recommendations for flu vaccination are supported.

The World Health Organization works with labs that collect specimens from hundreds of countries to determine which viruses might be most common each year. Since flu strains move fairly predictably around the world, the decision of which strains of flu should be included in the annual vaccine is made months in advance.

There are three main types of influenza virus that cause disease in humans; A, B and C. Influenzas A and B are associated with more severe illness and are included by the WHO in the flu vaccine each year.

Sometimes, there are three strains in the flu vaccine, two A’s and one B. There is also a vaccine with four strains, with two each of A and B.

For influenza A, there are two major antigens, or proteins, on the influenza virus. The body reacts to an antigen with an immune response by producing antibodies.

Influenza antibodies develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination and provide protection against infection with the strains that are in the vaccine. They may also be of benefit for closely related strains.

The major antigens on the influenza A virus are H (hemagglutinin) and N (neuraminidase). They both have multiple subtypes and can combine as different strains of influenza, such as H1N1 and H3N2. Influenza B is named for the location and year first identified and the lineage, for example, B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (Victoria lineage).

Typically, hens’ eggs are used to make influenza vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers inject influenza viruses into fertilized hens’ eggs, which are then incubated for several days to allow replication. The virus-containing fluid is harvested from the eggs and formulated into the vaccine.

In injectable vaccine, the influenza viruses are inactivated, or killed. The intranasal vaccine is live, but is made from weakened flu virus. The CDC is not recommending the intranasal vaccine this year due to concerns of effectiveness.

Neither influenza vaccine causes the flu, but you may still get the flu even if you are vaccinated. That can happen if you are exposed to a strain that is not in the vaccine, or if you were exposed within two weeks of being vaccinated. Also remember that although no vaccine provides 100 percent protection, the vaccine can make what would have been a bad case of the flu a much milder one.

The CDC conducts studies to measure the benefits of seasonal flu vaccination each year. These vaccine effectiveness studies confirm the value of flu vaccination as a public health intervention. While vaccine effectiveness can vary, studies show vaccine reduces the risk of flu illnessby about 50 to 60 percent among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses.

This effectiveness is a major benefit because the flu affects five to 10 percent of adults and 20 to 30 percent of children each year. For the 2015-2016 flu season, the adjusted overall effectiveness of the flu vaccine was 47 percent.

And remember, even if it’s not a perfect match, it can protect you and your loved ones from getting a potentially life-threatening, yet preventable, disease.

Other things to do, too

While the vaccine has been shown to be one of the most important preventive measures against the flu, you can do other things, too. Wash your hands. If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth or nose with your sleeve, not your hands. Avoid those who are ill.

Antiviral medication can help you feel better if you contract the flu, but it must be started early in your illness, so call your health provider when symptoms begin.

Good advice: Stay home if you have the flu. Better advice: Get a flu shot!

Author

Commissioner of Health, Fellows Ambassador New York Academy of Medicine, Distinguished Lecturer in Epidemiology and Community Medicine, New York Medical College, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center

Disclosure statement

Patricia Schnabel Ruppert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Immunization Survey Shows Washington’s Kids are Better Protected

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year’s annual National Immunization Survey shows Washington is better than the national average for most childhood vaccines.

The state recorded increased rates over last year for nine out of 10 vaccines and met national targets for several of those. In addition, the state surpassed its own goal of 72.6 percent completing the full childhood series of vaccines; our rate this year was just over 77 percent. For more information and specific immunization numbers, see CDC’s full survey release.

Immunization rates of toddlers in Washington are increasing, and meeting state and national public health goals.

Also encouraging is this year’s MMR vaccination rate for Washington, 95 percent, which is the highest it’s ever been in this survey and above the level needed for community protection against measles. MMR protects against measles, mumps, and rubella viruses.

The Childhood Vaccine Program provides vaccines at no cost to kids younger than 19, though health care providers may charge an office visit or administration fee.

For help finding a health care provider or an immunization clinic, contact your local health agency or the WithinReach Family Health Hotline at 1-800-322-2588.

The pharmacy chain pitches started in August: Come in and get your flu shot.

Convenience is touted. So are incentives: CVS offers a 20-percent-off shopping pass for everyone who gets a shot, while Walgreens donates toward international vaccination efforts.

The start of flu season is still weeks — if not months — away. Yet marketing of the vaccine has become an almost year-round effort, beginning when the shots become available in August and hyped as long as the supply lasts, often into April or May.

It’s unclear how long the immunity imparted by the vaccine lasts, particularly in older people.

Not that long ago, most flu-shot campaigns started as the leaves began to turn in October. But the rise of retail medical clinics inside drug stores over the past decade — and state laws allowing pharmacists to give vaccinations — has stretched the flu-shot season.

The stores have figured out how “to deliver medical services in an on-demand way” which appeals to customers, particularly millennials, said Tom Charland, founder and CEO of Merchant Medicine, which tracks the walk-in clinic industry. “It’s a way to get people into the store to buy other things.”

But some experts say the marketing may be overtaking medical wisdom since it’s unclear how long the immunity imparted by the vaccine lasts, particularly in older people. [Read more…]

The share of teenage boys getting the vaccine to prevent the cancer-causing human papillomavirus climbed significantly last year, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccination rate among girls rose as well, but not as steeply.

The CDC report says that 28.1 percent of boys between ages 13 and 17 completed the three-dose HPV vaccination cycle in 2015, compared to 21.6 percent the previous year. For girls, the percentage rose from 39.7 percent to 41.9 percent.

Nine years ago, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of doctors and public health experts that makes immunization recommendations to the federal government, said all teenage girls should get the HPV vaccination to prevent HPV-related cancers, pertussis and meningococcal disease.

In 2011, the committee recommended boys undergo the vaccination cycle as well.

But the vaccination rates remained stubbornly low, primarily, health officials said, because many doctors have not made HPV inoculation a priority for their patients.

Most state health departments have initiated outreach campaigns to educate pediatricians and primary care doctors with young patients about the benefits of the HPV vaccination.

Rhode Island had the highest HPV vaccination rates for girls (68 percent) and boys (58.1 percent) last year. Mississippi had the lowest rate among girls (24.4 percent) and Tennessee the lowest among boys (16 percent).

NIH begins testing investigational Zika vaccine in humans

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a clinical trial of a vaccine candidate intended to prevent Zika virus infection.

The early-stage study will evaluate the experimental vaccine’s safety and ability to generate an immune system response in participants.

At least 80 healthy volunteers ages 18-35 years at three study sites in the United States are expected to participate in the trial.

“A safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and the devastating birth defects it causes is a public health imperative,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “NIAID worked expeditiously to ready a vaccine candidate, and results in animal testing have been very encouraging. We are pleased that we are now able to proceed with this initial study in people. Although it will take some time before a vaccine against Zika is commercially available, the launch of this study is an important step forward.”

The Washington State Department of Health is urging parents to make sure their kids’ immunizations are up-to-date before heading back to school this fall.

“Summer is a busy time, and immunizations are often overlooked. Vaccines are critical protection for our children and help keep other kids around them safe from many diseases such as whooping cough and measles,” said State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy.

Last school year, 85 percent of kindergartners had all their required immunizations. However, the number of kids with exemptions from recommended immunizations remained steady at 4.5 percent.

This means that nearly 4,000 kindergartners do not have all of the vaccines they need to protect them from diseases. A complete list of immunization requirements is available at the following Web pages:

For school year 2016-2017, there are changes to the chickenpox vaccine requirement. Kids in kindergarten through grade 12 must get two doses of the vaccine or have a health care provider document that they have already had chickenpox.

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